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You can’t imagine it, the singer says. At that moment gearing up for her comeback record in eight years, ecstatically in love with her current love, and at long last the mom to a little one after dealing with conception issues for a decade, riding high. Then in March she was diagnosed with a breast cancer diagnosis.

The artist, birth name J. Cornish, is known for telling it as it is. The album, the provocatively titled album, was supposed to be an candid account, addressing every moment of pain she’d endured since she last worked on songs (endometrial issues, miscarriage, broken romances, gaslighting, mental health struggles) with typical candour. The initial release, her single No Secrets, was launched in April. But by then there was a mighty secret. The illness. Then follow-up track, Living My Best Life, was released in May and the artist was talking to press about how she was living her best life, while all the while living with breast cancer. Four weeks after she went public, and in the start of summer she received surgical treatment.

She shoots me her best “Are you kidding?” glance. “I put out with a song called No Secrets. I’m conducting every media appearance, and they’re, like, ‘Any updates?’ and I answer, ‘Erm, yeah, nothing …’” Cornish has just had to call off performances because she’s awaiting cosmetic procedures.

Our interview takes place at a photography studio in London. She is dressed in a tan faux-leather coat, blue jeans with elaborate white patches, beige footwear and oversized specs. Picture rocker vibe meets 1970s Nana Mouskouri. “I feel like I’m in the 1970s and I should have a man with facial hair.” Like the film, I say, thinking of the movie. “They used to call me that!” She smiles. Cornish is quick, unfiltered and direct. She says she has always wanted to try comedy and is planning to attempt her first comedy performance next year. “I like entertaining. When performing I frequently joke about the fans.”

Personal Battles and News

The artist was getting ready for an slot at the awards show when she found a lump. “I immediately went to get it checked, had an test, and they said, ‘It appears fine; your tissue is healthy.’ And I was, like, ‘However, it’s there. I’ve got an achy arm and pins and needles in my hands whenever I wake up.’ And they replied, ‘We should biopsy it?’ The date was March 28, the following my birthday.” It was a weekend eve. The specialist told her if it was bad news she’d reach out on the start of the week. By then the singer had convinced herself it was okay. The way she explains it, it was inopportune to receive a diagnosis when she had a busy schedule.

“It was a fortnight prior from debuting the project after a long hiatus and an extended break. And the doctor messaged and said, ‘Can you talk at six?’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Zoom, it won’t be anything.’ So I jump on the Zoom thinking it’s all going to be good, and she informs me, ‘Please take a seat.’ The solemn tone? And she continues, ‘I’m so, so sorry but your biopsy results have shown malignant cells.’” What did you say? “I replied, ‘Well, that’s not great. That’s not fucking great timing.’ The first thing I thought was, ‘My child depends on me.’”

Some men find me challenging due to my self-awareness

She considered the operation terrifying and absurd. “I fear going under. They walk you down. During crises you roll down in a bed, but then I just walked with a medical attire and my rear exposed. It felt surreal.” But, Cornish says, she’s been lucky. No chemo, no radiotherapy, just the surgery. “Cancer sucks, man, but you know what? Thank fuck I found it early. I underwent removal recently and my one side now looks like a odd shape.” She smiles again. “At least the nipple remains.”

The follow-up procedure is for health and appearance. Her chest, she remarks, are now “asymmetrical. The size doesn’t match. How rude! I thought, don’t add insult to injury, I’m already having a hard period. Such disrespect! Amusingly I said I’d never get my boobs done because I’ve got perfectionism, and I know they’d never be ideal. Illness changed that.”

A History of Health Challenges

The singer is no stranger to illness. She feels her outlook on her diagnosis has been so optimistic because she’s familiar with health crises. They have often coincided with career highs, functioning as a wake-up call, or shock, to highlight not to take anything for granted. “Truly, I feel life goes, ‘Things going well? Hold on.’ Since childhood, it has often paired with achievements for me; a serious or unusual issue has impacted my body.”

She takes me back to her childhood, already making her debut featuring in the West End in the production (she was cast at the age of 9). That’s when she was diagnosed with the cardiac issue Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which can cause a rapid pulse as well as vertigo and irregular beats. “I rehearsed between visits on an IV drip, and going back into hospital at night.” She fast-forwards several years, and young Jessica has entered the female band Soul Deep while studying at the Brit School. “I secured a deal, and I had a brain incident. Then when I was planning to release songs in recently I had a automobile accident and my throat was injured and I lost my voice for a twelve months.”

Hey, I say, slow down, I can’t keep up. A stroke so young? She nods|agrees